The Major Scale: Part 16: The Modes of the Major Scale

Are you enjoying the content provided here? Then help keep it going by becoming a patron for as little as $1 a month! Can you believe it? Please click below on the image to take you to my patreon rewards page... big thanks!

Remapping the Fretboard Galaxy

So far we have been refering to the fingering positions as degrees of the major scale. But did you know that these degrees of the major scale also have another name associated with them. These names refer to the actual sound characteristics of the scale that can be made from each of these scale degrees. So, you can say that the major scale contains many scales within it. These scales are known as modes. There are seven modes of the major scale.

Now, why is this important? Well, for one thing, when it comes to “playing the changes”, you will see that refering to the scale position by its modal name makes a difference. Let me explain why.